ARMENIA ALONG WITH OTHER CIS COUNTRIES CRITICIZED OSCE

Nine Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member countries have made a critical statement on the activities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The document presented at the sitting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna yesterday specifically emphasizes that during its activities the OSCE breaks the principle of non-intervention in domestic affairs and independence of states, as well as uses double standards when criticizing human rights violations in the states of the former USSR and the West. In the opinion of the Commonwealth representatives, the organization needs a reform, otherwise it will not be able to struggle with the challenges and threats to the European security. The document was signed in Moscow July 3 by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.